Rotary printing press



Sept. 28, 1943. w. A. WHITEHEAD ROTARY PRINTING PRESS File d Jan. 7. 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 w. A. WHITEHEAD ROTARY PRINTING PRESS Filed Jan. 7. 1942 Sept. 28, 1943.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 p 28, 1943. w. A. WHI'TEHE AD 2,330,321

ROTARY PRINTING PRES S Filed Jan. 7, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 W. A. WHITEHEAD ROTARY PRINTING PRESS Filed Jan 7, 1942 Sept. 28, 1943.

Patented Sept. 28, 1943 ROTARY rnm'rmo rimss William Arnold Whitehead, Preston, England, as-

signor to The Goss Printing Press Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application January 7, 1942, Serial No. 425,878 In Great Britain January 13, 1941 4 Claims.

This invention relates to rotary printing presses and has particular reference to means for moving the forme and distributing rollers of the inking system into and out of operative posi- 30D. and for locking them in the operative posi- An object of the invention is to provide a simple and eflicient system of mounting the distributing and forme rollers by means of which the rollers associated with each printing couple can be readily moved into the operative or inoperative position.

- Another object of the invention resides in the provision 'of means as aforesaid whereby movement of the rollers from, the operative to the inoperative position and vice versa can be at considerably greater speed than hitherto.

A further object of the invention is to provide a system which is capable of moving greater loads than hitherto, coupled with a reduction in the time occupied.

A still further object is to provide means whereby greater pressure is available when locking up in limited time.

Other objects of the invention will be clear from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, reference being made to the annexed drawings.

In said drawings- Figure 1 is a partial end elevation of a rotary printing press embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a detail sectional view, partly broken away, on line IIII of Figure 1; s

Figure 3 is a detail sectional plan view, partly broken away, on line III-III of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic and elevational view of a sextuple printing press showing the connections of the hydraulic power supply unit to a plurality of press units each having two printing couples, p

It is customary to arrange for the forme and distributing rollers to be moved into and out of the operative position without disturbing the setting or adjustment of said rollers in the operative position and for this purpose these rollers have usually been carried in movable frames so that all the rollers can be brought into the operative or inoperative position at the same time. In a press having a single printing couple, one pair of frames is arranged at one side of the distributing drums and another pair at the other side pf said drums, each two pairs of frames being connected by links to a shaft carrying four eccentrics so arranged that, upon rotation of the shaft through an angle not exceeding 180, the

two pairs of frames carrying the several distributing and forme rollers will be moved outwardly, thereby bringing all the said rollers out of operative contact with the distributing drums and type cylinder. Upon reverse rotation of the shaft, the frames are moved inwardly so as to bring the rollers into operative contact with said drums and cylinder, correct positioning of the rollers relative to the drums and cylinders being obtained when the eccentrics areat dead centre. Hitherto. the operating shaft has been rotated by hand, but such an arrangement does not make for convenient use and easy operation and, moreover, it presents constructional difliculties. In accordance with the invention, therefore, I employ power operated means, preferably in the form of a reversible hydraulic motor to which fluidunder pressure is fed from a pump, for actuating the frames, suitable'valve mechanism being provided to control the direction of rotation of the motor. The latter may be connected through worm gearing to a main drive shaft to which links are eccentrically coupled, the links being in turn connected to one end of each of the movable frames and the latter being pivotally supported at their other ends on the main press frame.

Referring now to Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, which illustrate a printing press having' a single printing couple comprising an impression-cylinder l0 and a type cylinder H, the inking arrangement is shown as'consisting of three distributing drums [2, I3, l4, four distributing or conveyor rollers l5, l6, l1 and Iii,

a distributing roller is, and forme rollers 20 and 2!. These distributing and forme rollers are mounted for rotation in bearings in a pair of frames, each comprising two frame members 22, 23, and'24, 25 respectively, the distributing rollers l5 and I] and forme roller 20 being supported between the frames 22 and 23 at one side of the distributing drums and the distributing rollers l6, l8 and I9 and forme roller 2| being supported between the frame members 24 and 25 at the other side of said drums.

The frame members 22, 23, 24 and 25 are mounted for rocking or swinging movement about horizontal pins 26 extending from the main press frame 21 and passing through bores in the lower ends of said frame members, the latter being located within recessed portions 28 of said main frame and adjacent the ends of the distributing drums. At their upper ends each of these frame members has pivotally attached thereto as by means of pins 29 one end of a link 30, 3|, 32, 33,

said links passing inwardly through apertures 34 in the main press frame and at their inner ends being eccentrically coupled, as by means of pins 35 engaging within recesses 35a, to the enlarged outer end portions 36 of a main drive shaft 31. The end portions 36 are rotatably mounted in the main press frame 21 and are detachably secured to the shaft 31, being for this purpose each formed with an inwardly extending sleeve 38 surrounding the adjacent end of the shaft and secured thereto as by means of bolts 39 passing through transverse holes in the shaft. As shown, the sleeves 38 each comprise an arcuate portion 40 integral with the end portions 36 and a detachable complementary arcuate portion 4|, this construction facilitating the assembling or dismantling of the shaft.

As thus far described, it will be clear that rotation of the drive shaft 31 in one direction will actuate the link 36, 3|, 32 and 33 to rock the- 7 frame members 22, 23, 24 and 25 outwardly about their pivots 26 and thereby simultaneously move all of the distributing and forme rollers out of contact with the distributing drums and the type cylinder; while rotation of the drive shaft in the reverse direction will return said rollers to their operative positions in contact with the distributing drums and -type cylinder.

Any convenient power drive may be provided for rotating the main drive shaft 31, although it is preferred to employ an hydraulically operated system for this purpose. As shown, a reversible hydraulic motor 45 is mounted on the main press frame and fluid under pressure is supplied to said motor by means of supply pipes 46, 41 in circuit with a fluid pump. Clo-axially secured to the rotatable element of the motor 45 and extending from the motor housing is a worm 48 which meshes with a worm wheel 49 secured to one of the enlarged end portions 36 of the main drive shaft 31, the worm being rotatably supported at its other end in a bracket also secured to the main press frame. Operation of the motor to retate the main drive shaft 31 in one direction or the other is effected by supplying fluid to the motor from the pump through one of the pipes 46, 41, the other pipe serving as a return path for the fluid.

Figure 4 is a schematicview showing the connections of the hydraulic power system described above as applied to a sextuple rotary printing press. As shown, the several printing couples II], II and their associated distributing drums and distributing and forme rollers, are arranged in pairs, each of said pairs being housed in a separate press frame to form a printing unit. Each printing unit is provided with two hydraulic motors 45, one for each printing couple, and the motors for each unit are connected in series by means of the pipe 46, the pipes 41 leading from each motor to the pump (not shown). Interposedbetween motors and the pump is a valve box 5| which for convenience is shown as being mounted on a folder 52. The valve box 5| houses control valves 53, one for each printing unit, whereby the direction of flow of the fluid from the pump to each pair ofmotors can be controlled as desired. A pressure control cock 54 is also shown in each circuit. The valve box 5| may be located at any other convenient position in the assembly, while separate valves may be employed for each fluid circuit, these valves being loacted at any convenient position on the respective units.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the invention provides a simple and efiicient system of mounting the distributing and forme rollers of a rotary printing press by means of which the rollers associated with each printing couple can be readily moved into the operative or inoperative position, while the controls require less space for operation than hitherto and can be located in various positions where they are most convenient.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Rotary printing press comprising in combination a press frame, distributing drums supported in said frame, a plurality of distributing and forme rollers on opposite sides of said drums, frames pivotally mounted on said press frame and supporting said rollers, a drive shaft, links connected to said frames and coupled eccentrically to said shaft, and a hydraulic motor for actuating said shaft.

2. Rotary printing press accordingto claim 1, comprising a pump for supplying fluid to the motor and valve means for controlling the direction of flow of said fluid.

3. Rotary printing press according to claim 1, in which the main drive shaft comprises detachable intermediate and end portions of which said end portions are rotatably journalled in the press frame, pins being eccentrically mounted in said end portions for connecting the frame actuating links thereto.

4. Rotary printing press according to claim 1,

in which the end portions of the main drive shaft carry inwardly extending sleeves to receive the ends of the intermediate portion, said sleeves each comprising an arcuate portion integral with the end portions and a detachable complementary arcuate portion detachably secured to the intermediate portion and to said integral portion.

WILLIAM ARNOLD WHITEHEAD. 

